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Topics: Celebrity, HBO, Film and TV
Phoebe Tonks
Bobby J.Brown, an actor best known to fans for playing Baltimore police officer Bobby Brown on HBO's The Wire, has tragically died at the age of 62.
The actor died on Tuesday, Feb 24 after he was caught in a deadly barn blaze, with the Maryland Office of the Chief Medical Examiner confirming that he had died as a result of diffuse thermal injury and smoke inhalation. The death was ruled to be accidental.
Shedding light on the events leading up to the ‘huge loss’ of her father, Brown’s daughter Reina explained how she had been awoken by a phone call at around 11:30 p.m. on Feb. 24, alerting her to the blaze.
She told PEOPLE, “ "I was sound asleep. I had gone to bed about two hours before," she reveals. "My little sister [was] freaking out, saying that Dad's gone and that he got caught up in a barn fire, and I'm like, 'What do you mean?' “
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"I literally went outside and put both my feet on my front walk," she said. "It's cold, and I stood out in my bare feet in a nightgown because I wanted to make sure I was really awake. I did that to make sure I was in actual reality and not dreaming this up, and then I did it for a grounding exercise. I couldn't believe it. I was like, this isn't real. And I still don't even feel like it's real.”
Reina also revealed that when the fire had initially broken out, her famous dad had called for a family member to bring a fire extinguisher as he hoped to tackle the fire himself before it could spread any further.
Still reeling from the sudden loss of such an integral part of her life, Reina also shared how she and her family were dealing with the tragedy - including what was helping to get her through it.
"Everybody is still trying to process it," she admitted. ”It's been difficult for all of us.”
"I'm his oldest, and I'm also one of Jehovah's Witnesses, and I will say, it's my faith that's keeping me sane right now.”
"My dad was an amazing human being," she shared. "He was super awesome. He was a pillar in the community, and he's going to be missed by a lot of people."
Brown’s agent, Albert Bramante also paid tribute to the star with his own statement, which spoke highly of his ‘immense talent and ‘even greater integrity.’
He approached his work with a discipline and a passion that were truly inspiring to witness."
"While his career included many notable performances, it was his unwavering dedication to the craft of acting that defined him as an artist," Bramante added. "We are deeply saddened by this loss and ask for privacy for his family and loved ones during this time.”
A graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Brown starred in numerous productions over the years, including in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Homicide: Life on the Street, as well as HBO’s The Wire, The Corner and We Own This City.
He also turned his hand to work behind the camera rather than in front of it too, having directed two documentaries: Off the Chain, about the abuse of American pit bull terriers, and Tear the Roof Off: The Untold Story of Parliament Funkadelic.